Lyritas budget HiFi

I've been a fan of Viren's craft ever since I heard his setup a year or so ago and I'm sure the latest addition only furthers his achievements...Viren would love to check out your new stuff...I'd be in Delhi for diwali, please let me know if I can drop in for a spell...

hey kamal,

I see u own Mr. Nakra's amp and speakers..

You are the first guy I've come accross in years using enbee. How are they performing? I personally found their amp very balanced.

Its sad that Nakra Bros have faded away into distant memories amidst a deluge of other names...those guys were way ahead of their times.

Its sad that Nakra Bros have faded away into distant memories amidst a deluge of other names...those guys were way ahead of their times.

In India, audio rarely brings food on the table.

If it did, I would have been in audio all along...

Amp_Nut, actually Mr Nakra has done quite well for himself;I've known him since 1979 when I picked up his amp& speakers.The enbee amp that I picked up then was an integrated one with an output of 50 W RMS into 8 ohms, which I traded in 6 yrs back for enbee's pre amp& power amp ,output 100 W RMS/8ohms; much better sound-far lower distortion ,better dynamics.
Mr Nakra has been running a very small outfit ,just 2 small rooms, and his stuff sells purely thru word of mouth-never seen him advertise/ participate in shows.His buyers come from all spectrum-have seen lots of foreigners( embassywallas) pick up his stuff;Soli Sorabjee who is a serious jazz afficionado,has Enbee apart from other big guns & also pistols like me!
Sadly, he has had to scale down his operations bec of age( over 80 Yrs old now), but even noew he comfortably sells all he makes,inspite of the flooding of the market with so many foreign brands.
Soulforged, since you would be in Delhi around diwali why dont you drop in at Embee's ,shankar mkt off connaught place? His ph no. is 32982441, mob- 9811785799. It will be a very interesting experience, I promise you!

Hi Kamal,

Thanks for your kind words!

By the way, Lyrita Audio is always open. Just call, and come over.

Some clarifications:

Lyrita Audio is small. Because the high end is small in India - actually, in comparison to the mass market, small all over the world. I found that out when I operated my own, little storefront for two years in the prime market of M-Block, Greater Kailash II in New Delhi. Not enough business to sustain that store! Committed to the business, I did what a good business person would do - cut my overheads, and operate from my home. What you get in return is a listening environment close to your own!

All high end businesses are the products of a committed single, or small group, of designers. That conviction shows in the quality of their products - no hype, just good sound. Another example is Mr. Nakra of Enbee. Sure, the business may not survive him, but be happy that he provided you with good products over the past 30 years! How many of the big audio manufacturers can claim to have products of that lineage!

A small point on dynamics. Dynamics is the spread of sound between the lowest and highest levels reproduced in music. It has nothing to do with overall loudness. That way, rock music is a major culprit - everything is mixed to a high level - sure, you can play it loud, but the dynamics are almost zero!

And a point on loudness capability. You have to consider the amp and speaker together. The average sensitivity of speakers is about 86 dB. Lyrita Audio's Harmony One has a sensitivity of 92 dB. That advantage of 6 dB says that you get the same loudness level with a 15 watt amp, that the 86 dB speaker would give with a 60 watt amp. More than enough for a normal Indian household!

Viren.

Speaking from a DIY point-of-view a Valve Amp+Fostex FR combo is tremendous VFM for Rs 50K. I assume Viren-ji is using imported OPT’s and Capacitors.

Hi Viren! I was wondering when the dad would respond to the comments on his child!
Let me, first of all, publicly thank you for your courtesy& patience-A gentleman, if ever there was one!
Yes, I am in complete agreement re the pt abt the kind of music that rock bands typically produce, and that ,coupled with the insane volumes that rock afficionados are wont to listen at makes them less than desirables as nieghbours!
Hence most of them are quite happy with outfits that are less than HIFI, but are capable of making their existence felt till the next colony.
Let me try to amplify what I had in mind when I made the comments re dynamics& loudness.
Many Orchestral recordings have a very wide dynamic range, including extremely LF passages which contribute importantly to the overall listening experience & pleasure.
Lf sounds take up a lot of "RMS", and hence a low watt amp could have problems if you want to listen at fair volumes(i.e.levels at which wives along with LF sounds make their presence really felt!).
I experienced this when I upgraded my amp from 50 to 100 W RMS- the LF passages no longer felt constricted, bass extension was palpable and,at the same volume levels, the sound felt cleaner.
I am certainly looking forward to coming back with some friends of the forum for a repeat experience.

Kamal schrieb:

.... kind of music that rock bands typically produce, and that ,coupled with the insane volumes that rock afficionados are wont to listen at makes them less than desirables as nieghbours! ...

I beg to disagree. I enjoy Mozart & Nirvana equally ardently. And I tend to play Mozart or other western classical at a much higher volume than I play Nirvana at.

"Rock afficionados" can be affectionate towards neighbors too. In one of my earlier posts I mentioned that good music is beyond classification & genres - and so are good listeners.

Hi Screamgigi,

Almost everything in my valve amps is developed here, in India. The audio output transformers are manufactured for me by an export oriented unit in Kerala, part of the international Noratel - Toroid Group. The critical capacitors are all film capacitors by CTR of India.

I'm sure higher quality imported parts will wring out better quality sound. But, I sincerely believe that good execution of a design is far more important than the upgraded quality of a few parts.

For instance, I'm switching to valve rectifiers in all my designs. There's absolutely no comparison between valve and solid-state rectified power supplies - valve rectifiers sound so much better. I know this is prior knowledge in valve circles - but I had to prove it to myself!

Viren.

All,

You are most welcome at Lyrita Audio anytime.

I understand buying a good quality audio system is a substantial investment for most of us. You have to convince yourself of the quality and value of what to buy. For that, multiple auditions may be necessary, and a fair amount of soul searching. By all means, take your time. And listen for as long as you want.

Viren.

Thanks Viren, at the open invitation.
Beware, we're gong to take you up on this!
regards,
Kamal

There's absolutely no comparison between valve and solid-state rectified power supplies - valve rectifiers sound so much better.

hi viren,

i was doing some reading up and came across the topic of rectifiers(from a valve company). the person said solid state rectifiers draw a pulse of the current instead of a steady current. but this was misleading cos even valve rectifiers do the same thing. i then saw your post so was wondering could you shed some light on this?

i hope i've got the technical part right but the i'm sure you'll get my drift...

Thanks Viren, at the open invitation. Beware, we're gong to take you up on this! regards, Kamal

hi kamal,

if you do pop in could u guys listen to the harmony twos? i'm quite sold on the single driver concept. besides this is the only time i'll be able to keep a huge speaker in my living room so do post your views on it. it would be the next best thing to coming there. which i can't do.

thanks

Hi Steve,wiil do,soon as I can rally the other delhi audioboys.
Any particular music that you would like auditioned/aspect particularly paid attention to?
What sort of music do you like,what gives you pleasure while listening to music?

hi kamal,

i generally listen to 70s rock. little jazz. i prefer feeling the music. for example instead of a huge bass thump in my chest i'd rather hear the bass note plucked by the bass guitarists fingers, the strum of plectrum on guitar, the slide of the lead guitarists fingers up the fretboard, the different cymbals, the intakes and exhaling of breath. the music should sound whole and ummm musical instead of just pieces like great bass or some instrument locked somewhere in the soundstage, etc...

i'll be getting his amp sometime soon so it's going to paired together.

thanks a lot!

one thing i forgot to mention was i dont blast music. i listen at decent volume levels (i can hear someone speak) so you could keep that in mind also.

thanks again

Hi Steve,

The differences between rectifiers is difficult to explain technically. Valve rectifiers certainly generate much lower levels of high frequency noise than even fast switching solid-state diodes.

What is important is that a valve rectified power supply allows the reproduced sound to bloom, to flesh out harmonic structures of instruments, make the music more dimensional and alive. For me, there is no going back!

I was going to suggest that you get feedback from someone you knew in Delhi on the pairing of the Integre amp and the Harmony Two speakers. Looks like you'll get an opinion soon anyway!

Viren.

Hi Steve, going by what you've written above, I'd say that you & Harmony could have a good fit since the things that you mentioned were what I myself noticed when I auditioned Harmony One.
Will get back to you as soon as I'm able to fix up a listen to the model you've mentioned.
Regards,
Kamal

Hi Guys!
Sanjay & yrs truly went today for an extensive audition of Lyritas' Harmony two Single Driver Speakers, as rqstd by stevieboy.
Had a very good session, including a thorough comparison test of Lyritas solid state vs their valve amp, And also a blind test between an original CD & a FLAC of the same CD.
We will be putting up post of the session soon...
We are also planning an audition of an extreme end system including Top bracket QUAD speakers ( to see how they measure up against Cadences' Amayas, 2-3 sundays from now.
Regards,
Kamal

Kamal schrieb:

We are also planning an audition of an extreme end system including Top bracket QUAD speakers ( to see how they measure up against Cadences' Amayas, 2-3 sundays from now.

You mean the Quad ESLs? They're quite good, though not exactly extreme hi-end IMO. Hope you guys have a good time. Anxiously waiting for your reviews on the Harmonys.

the suspense is killing me! cant wait to hear u guys' opinion. thanks for going and checking them out

You mean the Quad ESLs

Thats right, Shahrukh.
The rig belongs to a fatcat who has an entire basement devoted to his setup.
Viren knows him well & said he would swing an Audition for us.
We are hoping that this time around, Rahul & Sunil & Anirwan will be able to join in , hence the long lead time so that they can convince their wives!
Also hoping to rope in Ashish( the guy who owns the Amayas we auditioned earlier)-Lets see what he has to say( tho' I bet he'll say " They're OK ,Not bad, But Amayas are in an entirely difft league, dont you agree?")!
Am waiting for Sanjay to write up the audition of the Harmony Two's- he's much better with words ;then , if reqd, I'll add in my two penny's worth.

Hey Kamal, I'd be in Delhi for a week starting 18th...can you guys pull me in if you are going for the audition during this time?

Pls PM me if you can...

thanx

Kamal schrieb:

The rig belongs to a fatcat...

Hope this guy doesn't visit teh forum!!

Am waiting for Sanjay to write up the audition of the Harmony Two's- he's much better with words ;then , if reqd, I'll add in my two penny's worth.

please do! your first review was very good! thats why i asked you in the first place so we'll have two reviews to read

I have penned down our yesterday's experience on a separate thread "Delhi Meet - October 06" in the Offtopic section.

Dear Soulforged,

We'll be happy to welcome with you some good music. How long are you here in Delhi? May be we could plan a short session at my place?

ummm that was more like minutes of the meeting rather than a review... would really be great and helpful if you put down your impressions. at your convenience of course looking forward to it.

Quad ESLs Kamal??????
Wel I am not going anywhere and there is nothing which is going to stop me from listening to those. Please do count me in and this time no hangover.

Hi Doc,

I am in Delhi from tomorrow till 28th...lets plan to meet up...

Hi Guys,
Re : the Lyritas Audio Audition -15/10/06.
Apart from what Sanjay has written abt the audition in a separate thread ,I’ll add a few words….
1.THE EQUIPMENT-Lyritas Integrated SS Amp-50 W /channel ,Lyritas Integrated Valve Amp-15 W RMS/ channel ,&Lyritas Harmony Two, Single 4.5” driver( FOSTEK) Floorstanders ,Marantz CD Player.
2. THE LISTENING ROOM- as described in the beginning of this thread; briefly-
10 ft x 12 ft room, door to the right and 4 ft wide entrance to a hall on the left, two couches each along the side walls, two “Roman “ chairs abt 8 ft in front of the speakers , door to balcony & shelf abt 6.5ft high behind the roman chairs. A chatai nailed to the wall between the speakers & also a 3 ft tall potted plant between & near the right speaker( I guess next time around we’ll just take a digicam along !). The speakers had a Toe In of abt 15 Degrees from the vertical to create a sweet spot at the two roman chairs.
3.THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE. Having set us up with big mugs of fresh brewed coffee ( drool, boys !)& a plate of cookies, we started the audition (NOTE ;each track was played on the SS Amp & then on the Valve Amp for comparison; diff perceived by us mentioned while discussing the tracks)
1.ART FARMER-Tracks-*Blame it on my youth* &-*Fairytale Countryside*.
An old Jazz Album from Virens collection.The main instrument was the Flugelhorn( somewhat like an Oboe), slow/ medium paced tempo. While the SS was good, the Valve Amp( V ) brought out the unique timbre ,the distinctive harmonics of the flugelhorn better-e.g. on a lesser setup, the tonal difference between the flugelhorn and a trombone would not have been so immediately apparent-the sound was richer, the transients more THERE-. The V Amp & Harmony Two ( H 2) provided a lush, compact sound stage full of fine detailing a sense of presence, across the dynamic range of the recording; as with good speakers, the H 2 promptly disappeared, leaving us to enjoy this great recording. ( a really nice couple of tracks- highly recommended Album).
2.Toccata & Fugue-J S BACH -Westminster Cathedral Organ-Paul Scott-Organist
I then pulled out the Cd containing this track ,to give the setup something to chew on.
The first few notes dramatically revealed the diff between Tubes & SS; the echoes & reverberations thru the V seemed to go on &on ! (Ac to Viren , this is one of the primary reasons why tubes sound more warm & mellow as compared to SS-the sound decays to silence longer, the diff between two fine , delicate sounds is more apparent ).Then the Organ opened its throat and let loose the entire mass of sound its capable of(think of the THX signature tune, only much ,much more intense).Of course, this aspect of the recording could not be fully reproduced by the setup, the actual sound is so loud that the doors, windows your chest and your heart reverberates! But the delicate aspects of Paul Scotts playing brought tears to the eyes, the naturalness, the transparency of the recording was palpable .And the magic of the tubes was in full play-the dying echoes in the cathedral stretched on & on & on…..!
3.CARL ORFF- CARMINA BURANA-INTRO PASSAGE-In this piece the V & H2 were in their element.Each voice in the chorus seemed to be separate ,the fullness of the massed choral voices beautifully brought out & the wide dynamics of the track , from the soft single voice to the entire chorus swelling in one massed sound ! The recording beautifully displayed the focus of the set up- no feeling of vagueness, the voices pinpointed in the image thrown up Here again the diff bet the SS and V was in the clarity, the PRESENCE, the sense of being there ,the clean delineation of the subtle portions of the track which make for a much more satisfying listening experience.
4.LAKHYA-MAIN AISA KYOON HOON-This is one the rare Indian Cds which has been well mastered
The Rich voice of Shaan was crisply rendered and the backing chorus was reproduced as a group of singers with distinctly INDIVIDUAL voices instead of a massed HEEEAAAAYOOOO!!! This recording seemed to be tailor made for V & H2.
5.AMJAD ALI KHAN-SAROD-RAAG PILU—ALAAP. Another recording to which the setup brought its strengths-also one where the diff bet SS & V was so manifest. The strike of the mizraab to the strings the harmonics generated by each note played slowly & lingeringly in the Alaap-magical indeed ! Amjad appeared to be sitting right there, between the speakers, near the potted plant, in front of the chatai!
I would say this was one of the standout pieces we heard during the audition-just we the listeners & the glorious music, nothing in between, before or after !
6.JAGJIT SINGH-THE UNFORGETTABLES-BAAT NIKLEGI TO PHIR.
Fast becoming one of my auditioning favs. Here the diff bet SS & V was starkly apparent; the SS gave a very competent rendering but the sound thru the V was something else! Such a rich lush voice seemingly emanating from the depths of his chest ,his heart! SS-Bahut acchha, V- Jadoo! And the H2 were there to bring the richness faithfully to you….All the details were there –the chest vibrations, the throat sounds, the lip sounds, the movement of the air…very clear detailing..
7.PINK FLOYD-DIVISION BELL-COMING BACK TO LIFE &
8.FLEETWOOD MAC-RUMOURS-NEVER GOING BACK AGAIN
In deference to the tastes of Stevieboy! Two great tracks of Classic Rock. Sit back ,close your eyes and listen..Played at a moderate volume, the magic we had felt when we had first heard these recordings came rushing back; of course , in my case it was then thru Dads Philips Radio & a Gerrard Changer, but then it was the combination of youth and the music & now it was the music and the memories….FleetMac& Never going..are old, old favouries and the simplicity of the arrangements, the vocals & the guitar rhythm sounded so sweet! It was indeed yesterday once more…The mids & highs are the real strength of the Harmonys’and this track esp highlighted that aspect.
9.AEROSMITH-* Crazy* & *Blind Man* &
10.NIRVANA -* Come as you are * & * All Apologies*
More up Sanjays’ street! What I perceived here was that my ears had started to hurt! Viren explained that this was because most Rock groups set their rig to distortion levels deliberately to heighten the rock experience. To each his own… But this much I’ll say , this kind of music is not really to the strengths of the setup we auditioned. But Sanjay should have the last word on that.
11.BEETHOVEN- 5th & 6th – Pastoral-Berliner Phiharmonic-Karanjan, conductor.
Here the majesty of the Symphony filled the room from the initial DH-DH-DH-DHAAAAAN, loud crescendos to the faint passages; all the nuances were brought out ; Again ,we experienced the eerie feeling that we were there and there was the music …time seemed to stand still….I guess this is the hallmark of a good system.One of the timeless pieces of music and the system like Jeeves, quietly effaces itself from the room…
12. TIBETAN INCANTATIONS- *Om Mani Padme Hum *-A beautiful Cd, heard it first at Sanjays, highly recommended, fills the ambience with a sense of peace & harmony –another recording which played to the setups’ strengths. The Choral voices sounded sweet and full, all the nuances of the vocalization were there …the different timbres of the individual voices, this one clean, this one slightly hoarse, you could swear that you could predict the ages of the singers! This was another one of the recordings to highlight the diff bet SS & V. the V’s seemed to give an altogether more realistic sound.
Roundabout this time( while playing the rock stuff, to be exact) we set up a comparison between Harmony One’s ( 6.5”) and Harmony Two’s- Difference ? Tad ( 25 to 30 %) more mellow sound, greater bass extension, rest was the same-this is for your benefit, Stevie!
13.NORAH JONES- * Come Away With Me *One of my favs from her award winning album. The softness, the huskiness, the LUSHNESS of her voice were startlingly brought out. This is a Gentle track, and needs to be played with warmth, something that Valves appear so good at. We sat mesmerized.” Come Awaaaaay with me (breath in), to the niiiiiiight (breathy voice out softly, softly…)”
System & Album Made for each other , like filter& tobacco, like rum & coke, like youth & romance.
14.VIENNA BOYS’ CHOIR—We played a couple of tracks from this CD. The presence of the choir, the purity of the voices, the gentle rising and softly falling away, away, of the voices-the choir was THERE, the transparency was such as if the last veil between you and the music had been removed. Pinpoint image, sharp focus, the transients. This CD & the Cathedral Organ one truly demonstrated the extended decay, the long Fading away into silence, of notes , where Valves triumph over SS.
15.GENE HARRIS/JACK McDUFF-Album-(down home ) Blues -* Cayenne Blues*
Another Jazz number from Virens’ collection This trackbeautifully displayed the rhythm, the swing, the Excitement, that great Jazz generates.-the double bass laying down the rhythm in the background, the drummer providing the percussion-drumsticks striking the rim instead of the skin, the piano providing the melody, the Hammond organ intruding time & again with chordal wails…all combined to weave a mesmerizing tapestry of sound. Whether you wanted to or not, your foot started to tap, the head nodded in time, your body began swaying, you wanted to get up and DANCE! The set up brought out the atmosphere of the nightclub very well-you were there and enjoying yourself!
16.STING-Album-BRAND NEW DAY-Track *Desert Rose*
Lastly, we did a “blind” test of the diff bet an original cd and a FLAC of the same cd. Sanjay & I did the listening & Viren was requested to play this track from the 2 cds, hiding the cd player so that we would be unable to see what was being put inside the CDP.He played the track from one CD then the other CD 6 times --& we could’nt make out the Diff ! So much so, even Viren had difficulty remembering in the end which he had played first & which second which third & so on—he had to think hard to recall.
IN CONCLUSION-
-Lyritas Integrated valve Amp & Harmony Two speakers are truly a Budget introduction to HiFi sound, what I had felt before, reaffirmed.
-Clean & pure mids/highs are their forte alongwith sufficient, controlled bass for moderate level listening.
-The rig will fill a small room like the one we auditioned in, or maybe a bit more ,with sound, so long as you don’t expect body vibrating effects.
- Jazz, vocals, Symphony w/o very low bass , Quartet music, soft/classic rock, Indian Classical music ,old hindi film songs, SRB, would sound pretty good on this set up.
-hard rock which NEEDS to be played at a high volume for impact, and music that delivers punches to the guts, any Dhishum, Dhishum are not for this baby.
If the above fits your bill, this represents incredible VFM; if you can stretch your budget by another 10 k Harmony Ones’ will give you lower bass, more mellow midrange.
-For the sort of music mentioned above, & , barring hi db rock stuff where delicacy and transients and transparency does’nt matter so much, Valves are better than SS , at least at the quality level of the eqpt we auditioned .
.It Is Virtually imposs to make out the diff between Original CDs & FLAC. Unless Virens , Sanjays & my ears are truly flawed, I can confidently state that , in a blind test , you cant make out.
Would like other younger ears to also honestly try this out.
Lastly, plz do remember that what we experienced IS NOT THE GOSPEL! Please do bring your own music and listen for yourselves…
Regards,
Kamal

Kamal-ji

An excellent report. Please accept my complements.

You describe the sonic characters of Valves quite accurately. I would just say that rock music too sounds good barring a few AC/CD type recordings. To tackle them and their ilk you need a good 845 Triode amp.

But one type of recording that really sounds horrible on tubes is those having extremely high level of compression or overdubbing.

So I really would not discourage a rock aficionado to try out Tubes. BTW we are building a Valve amp. Come over to the DIY section and give your comments

great report was really fun reading.

you dilli guys are way ahead in this communal auditioning thingie

Thanks ,screamgigi.
The last two sessions at Virens were the only times when I have had the opportunity & the pleasure of listening to tubes properly; during the session on 15/10, the side by side audition of the solid state & the valve amps was especially revealing-I am a happy convert!
My comments re how the rock we played sounded were of course
on Virens set up that we auditioned.I felt that to do justice to the energy levels inherent in most types of rock ,a rig should have more muscle. Just like its not appropriate to listen to bhajans at peak volume, I think rock has its best impact at hi levels-i.e, each genre hasits own requirements.
There is rock music & there is rock music.
I freely admit that I don't care for the sort where everyone is screaming at the top of his voice and simultaneously trying to bash the shit out of his eqpt.For me, some melody some musicality is a must e.g., I quite like Led Zeps "Stairway to heaven" & others of that ilk.
Having said that ,I must hasten to add that this is purely MY view, & I would be foolish to declaim it as a universal truth; which is why, I have emphasized that everyone , in the end, must trust only his own ears.
Will take a look at the DIY you mentioned but am scared that it will be "all way over my non techie head " !

Thanks!
the credit, arj ,for the "communal thingie" must go to Sanjay- he set it all off by organising the Amaya audition.
And yes, enjoying music on a good setup in the company of like minded friends feels near to heaven !
I do hope this will make you guys also try these kind of sessions out.
Regards,
Kamal

awesome review kamal! if i ever come to delhi lunch is on me. alternatively if you ever come to bangalore :)thanks so so much for taking the trouble to audition it and my taste in music. i was doing research on fostex drivers and was thinking i'd better go for the harmony ones. in the long run, spread over months, the extra 10k would be worth it.

hmmm nirvana i definitely dont listen to. just one clarification. rock music with electric guitar like floyd, jimi hendrix, deep purple, led zeppelin would it sound good? keeping in mind i'd be listening at moderate levels not blasting my ears off? your report seems to indicate that it would, barring the metal rock type. am i right? would the guitar tone be reproduced well?

screamgigi your take too would be appreciated.

i once heard hendrix on a quad 11L and man! was it so clear! could feel myself in the front row! no gut thumping but the clarity was just amazing!

regards

forgot one point.

in stairway to heaven that you mentioned, i can imagine the opening part coming out real well with the slow guitar and vocals. but the track goes 'crazy' towards the end when he starts riffing and everybody adds their bit. would this come out decent on the setup? would the crunch of the guitar reproduced properly or smoothed over to sound 'respectable' types?

regards

Thanks Stevieboy!
If you look at S.nos 7&8 of my review, you will see that we played tracks from Pink Floyds' Division Bell & Fleetwood Macs' Rumours- they sounde great on Harmony Twos'& wld sound even better on H 1's.
Unfortunately, I could not play Stairway to Heaven even tho I was carrying the remastered Cd, since time was getting on
& it would not have been fair to Viren & his family.
If its impt to you I'll do so on my next visit to Viren-judging by what we heard re P.Floyd& FM, it would sound great-and yes, the end part of STH is very exciting ,isn't it?
Regards,
Kamal

hi kamal,

ah so you did play various tracks from the division bell. i thought you played only the one track 'coming back to life' that you mentioned.

wow u going back to viren's again? thats me green with envy. well at least till i get my own pair hehe. hey would appreciate you checking out some led zeppelin or highway star from deep purple or any track of any classic rock artist which has electric guitars. stairway till the end would be great! it pretty much covers the range of a normal rock track. but thats only if you go. dont trouble yourself otherwise.

am not too much into fleetwood mac. love the song 'tusk' though and another, the name of which i cant get right now. will check out the track you mentioned online.

cheers

by the way what kind of music do you normally listen to?

regards

Kamal said :

Lastly, we did a “blind” test of the diff bet an original cd and a FLAC of the same cd. Sanjay & I did the listening & Viren was requested to play this track from the 2 cds, hiding the cd player so that we would be unable to see what was being put inside the CDP.He played the track from one CD then the other CD 6 times --& we could’nt make out the Diff ! So much so, even Viren had difficulty remembering in the end which he had played first & which second which third & so on—he had to think hard to recall.

Hi Kamal & Viren,

Could you please elaborate on the FLAC comparision. I am not cler as to how the FLAC content was played.

Did one CD have FLAC content on it ?

Are such CDs replayable on a standard CD Player ?

I thought FLAC could only be played on a Computer / iPod / mp-3 player

Thanks for your feedback

Kamal,

Thanks a lot for the review, and the stress on what counts the most - the music!

Stevieboy,

Since almost all electric guitar is played through valve guitar amps, you ain't heard proper guitar tone reproduced except through valve amps!

Viren.

hehe yups viren. most marshalls are tube based. i was about to put in a post to that effect but then thought they overdrive the amps so that might be a factor in the sound? which i might not get to reproduce since i'd be little more sane in my use

the credit, arj ,for the "communal thingie" must go to Sanjay- he set it all off by organising the Amaya audition.

great going sanjay! keep the auditions going and do post your reviews! no escaping from that.

Kamal,

Thanks for the informative reviews. We now know that there is a yet another option for good Hi-Fi right here in India!

Regards,
- Nagaraj

Amp-Nut, we played the original CD of "Brand new day" by Sting, Track -desert rose-, & a FLAC of the same album, downloaded from the Net, burnt onto a Moser Baer CD-R.
Bit for bit , a FLAC is identical to the original Cd, and can freely be played on any CD player, even a discman.
As stated in my review,we couldnt make out any difference whatsoever, inspite of playing each of the two CDs 3 times over, i.e, the track was played 6 times -but , we could'nt tell them apart !
Just a little side test since we were getting together & had both the original & the FLAC handy-hope the info is of some interest to the forum members..
Regards,
Kamal

Thanks Nagraj, and yes, we have to applaud the result of Virens' labour!
Regards,
Kamal

Hi Steve,

Just a little clarification - valve guitar amps and valve hifi play back the same way, except in the way they are used. The guitarist purposely overdrives the amp to get the guttural tone he wants, the amps themselves run 'hot' to give that tone. Once that tone is recorded, its there on the recording in all its glory!

The purpose of the hifi is to reproduce that tone in all its glory. The distorted tone is already there - the hifi should be absolutely linear to give it back to you. So, overdriving your hifi should be the last thing on your mind!

The same mistaken notion is used by audiophiles in discussing ambience reproduction. It has to be in the recording first - your hifi shouldn't be adding it for you!

Viren.

Wow, great insight , Viren!
Regards,
Kamal

Hi Kamal,

Thanks for your feedback on FLAC.

I did not know that a FLAC file would play normally on a standard CD Player !

Cheers

Hi Everyone & Stevieboy,
Was going to Noida ,past Virens place yesterday, so dropped in for a chota audition with some rock music-The experience-
1.LED ZEPPELIN-*Stairway to Heaven*-I guess everyone is familiar with this timeless track-the slow start " Teres' a lady..."abs clear sounding intonation coming thru ,with the guitar strings caressed gently-each note crisp & clear,pace of the music picking up,until the 6th minute, when with a DHA DH DH DHA of the guitars, the track reaches the hi vol levels-turned up the vol here to very loud( viren smiling, wife wincing)-no distortion each guitar strum still clear,then the end portion where as put by steve, they "go crazy"; sound at very hi level but still abs clear-experiencing the excitement of the great finish sound at extreme pace & intensity-then the track fades away to the sedate levels of the beginning..
2.BEATLES- *Hey Jude* one of my fav tracks of all times-the magic of the Beatles takes over all( even the wife nodding her head), the music souded so clear & fresh-this rig brings oit every subtility of the vocalising, each pluck of the guitar, making for a very pleasant revidsit to this old favourite.
3.U2-JOSHUA TREE-*With you without You*-Another great track, tempo builds up sloowly, with the deep muted bass lending a soft depth to the vocals,the clarity again bringing forth the full magic of this number-this track was heard at moderate levels and felt that there was nothing lacking , it was all there.( this audition was with the Harmony Two's, except the Led Zep track which was first in the H1 & then repeated on H2).
4.IRON BUTTERFLY- * In A Gadda Da Vida *-bet you guys have'nt even heard of this rock group/track !( 70's, german group)-played this track esp for the portion where there is just the drums weaving a mesmeric pattern-D duh D duh D duhduhduh ! here the drummer takes centrestage, for abt 4-5 mts, then switches to the background rhythm support pattern-dikytakuh a tikidikitakuh a dikitakuh, and then, softly softly ,the organ comes in with notes so sweet & pure playing a soft melodic pattern clean and then reverb...brings tears to your eyes..truly a great track do listen to it if you can-had a lot of joy listening to it with all the subtle nuances, the magic reproduced.
5.QUEEN-*Its A Kind Of Magic*,* I Want To Break Free*, *Bohemian Rhapsody*-I am very fond of the music of this group & listened to the fav 3 tracks with joy-yes the listen was magic what with melodic harmonic vocalising being the standout features of this old group; was keen to see how Virens rig would standup to the sharp rise in vol levels in the Bohemian track-you know it starts out with the long drawn out "Mamaaaaaa oooo oooo ooo a ooooo " then you have some wonderful harmonising vocals and then.." thunder& lightning" the music hits a v high intensity, the rig didnt falter one bit, "Bismillah, dont let him goooo"!
a great number indeed & we all enjoyed it a lot.
6.CLARENCE `GATEMOUTH` BROWN-ALBUM-THE MAN-*You Can Disagree*- we ended the session with this Jazz track from Virens collection, which has some great guitar play, some thing which Stevieboy wanred to be sure of.Great track with the double bass laying down the back rhythm, drums & rhythm gutars providing the patterns, piano coming in with the melody-beautiful vocals by CG Brown, echoed by the tenor & alto sax, an entrancing, swinging number! theres a portion where the elec & acoustic guitars hold centrestage, great strumming each pluck resonatingly clear, and then another part where the trumpets, trombones & the Saxes come into the foreground...very melodic very exciting, foot tapping stuff-a great way to wind up the audition.
VERDICT- the rig easily stands up to all the demands of soft/classic rock , the transparency & mid/high clarity & tight, sufficient bass which are the strenghts of the rig making every listen a pleasurable experience.
Took leave of Viren with some more of his great coffee inside as well as the musical experience.
Regards,
Kamal

Dear Kamal !

Not fair, you left me out

BTW was this a "chota audition"? I think we are pushing Viren to his limits

Now to sum it all up. Lyrita Audio equipment are simply reflections of the tastes and personality of it's designer - Viren Bakshi - very gentle, very pure, very mature, very polite, very humble but very shy of anything that's harsh or hard (like Nirvana or Aerosmith).

Most music sounded great on the system but the Nirvana, Aerosmith and on a previous audition Madonna (Frozen, Ray of Light) sounded unbearable. I was the first to change the discs.

The pre- & power monoblock combination sounded much better than the integrated (Kamal wasn't there on that day - now the score is equal).

The most impressive thing about the harmony speakers is the fact how a single driver can create such a wide frequency response. However, we have not compared them with any equivalent multi-driver speakers.

Verdict - great value for money budget HiFi gear

Amp_Nut schrieb:

Hi Kamal, Thanks for your feedback on FLAC. I did not know that a FLAC file would play normally on a standard CD Player ! Cheers

Hi !

I think it was a CD written in PCM format converted from a FLAC file. That's how it could play on normal CDP.